Non-refillable fitment

ABSTRACT

A non-refillable fitment comprises a housing including a lower member constructed for attachment on the neck of a bottle and an upper member surmounting the lower member. The lower member has internal walls defining an aperture and a valve seat surrounding the aperture. The upper member includes an annular wall extending in a direction away from the lower member and radial ribs extending inwardly from the annular wall. The radial ribs include radially directed inner edges which define cage-like guide means. A valve member located in the housing is disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat within said cage-like guide means. A cap member surmounting the radial ribs has an upper surface that is substantially co-extensive with the upper end of the annular wall. The cap member has a smaller diameter than the upper end of the annular wall whereby the cap member and annular wall define an inner wall and outer wall, respectively, of an annular channel terminating in an annular liquid outlet orifice. The fitment is used for preventing tampering with and unauthorised refilling of bottles containing high quality spirit such as Scotch whisky.

United States Patent [1 1 Crisp et al.

[ 1 May 14, 1974 NON-REFILLABLE FITMENT [73] Assignee: N. R. Fitments Limited, London,

England [22] Filed: Mar. 1, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 230,883

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Assistant ExaminerSteven M. Pollard Attorney, Agent, or FirmMarkva & Smith [57] ABSTRACT A non-refillable fitment comprises a housing including a lower member constructed for attachment on the neck of a bottle and an upper member surmounting the lower member. The lower member has internal walls defining an aperture and a valve seat surrounding the aperture. The upper member includes an annular wall extending in a direction away fromthe lower member and radial ribs extending inwardly from the annular wall. The radial ribs include radially directed inner edges which define cage-like guide means. A valve member located in the housing is disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat within said cage-like guide means. A cap member surmounting the radial ribs has an upper surface that is substantially co-extensive with the upper end of the annular wall. The cap member has a smaller diameter than the upper end of the annular wall whereby the cap member and annular wall define an inner wall and outer wall, respectively, of an annular channel terminating in an annular liquid outlet orifice.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Mar. 29, 1971 Great Britain 8045/71 June 24, 1971 Great Britain 29679/71 [52] U.S. C1. 215/21, 215/42 [51] Int. Cl B65d 49/02 [58] Field of Search 215/21, 42; 137/532 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,073,469 1/1963 Towns 215/22 2,037,514 4/1936 Laube... 215/21 3,084,822 4/1963 Guala 215/21 2,257,515 9/1941 Reynolds. 215/21 2,096,426 10/1937 Greene 215/42 2,932,436 4/1960 Dobbins 215/42 1,196,455 8/1916 Hesse 137/532 FOREIGN PATENTS R APPLICATIONS 610,302 /1960 Italy 215/21 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a non-refillable fitment of the kind intended for use on the top of a bottle containing spirits or other liquids. The purpose of such fitments is to prevent dilution or adulteration of the contents of the bottle. Such fitments include a non-return valve which when open allows flow of liquid out of the bottle, but which closes when an attempt is made to introduce liquid in the reverse direction. One example of such a fitment is described and claimed in British Pat. No. 835,507. It is an aim of the present invention to provide a fitment having improved pouring characteristics which is moreover convenient and inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a non-refillable fitment comprising an upper member and a lower member, the lower member being constructed for attachment to the top of a bottle and having a central aperture and a valve seat, a valve having a head which can engage the seat so as to close the aperture and a stem which extends upwardly from the head, wherein the upper member has therein radial ribs, the radially extending inner edges of which define a cage for the valve member and which are surmounted by a cap, the upper end of the cap being of smaller di ameter than the upper end of the upper member so that the cap and the wall of the upper member respectively define the radially extending inner and outer walls of an annular orifice at the top surface of the upper member out of which, in use, liquid can flow.

In a specific embodiment, the valve stem is fluted and the valve head has a substantially flat lower peripheral surface, with the upper surface of the valve head sloping downwardly from the stem to the periphery of the valve head. The central aperture of the lower member is preferably circular, and the lower surface of the lower member may have one or more circular ribs or protrusions projecting downwardly and running around the aperture. The purpose of such ribs is to improve the sealing between the under surface of the lower member and the rim of the bottle to which the non-refillable fitment is to be applied. A screw closure may be provided for closing the annular orifice of the fitment. This closure preferably has an external tear away ring. The ring is connected to the closure by portions which have a zone of substantially reduced cross sectionalarea to provide an easily breakable connection. The lower member, upper member and screw closure can be secured to a bottle top merely by the mechanical strength of a metal, preferably aluminium, sleeve or capping, cementing together the upper and lower parts of the fitment not being necessary. Moreover, this feature is enhanced by the employment of low density polythene as the material for the lower member, while the upper member and the valve will usually be made of polystyrene. These parts may conveniently be moulded. The ring of the screw closure is secured under the capping and tears away from the closure when the closure is unscrewed, so giving an indication that the bottle has been opened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further features of the invention will appear from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a non-refillable fitment according to the invention attached to a bottle and provided with a screw closure;

FIG. 2 is a section of the fitment shown in FIG. 1 with the closure removed and the bottle tilted; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the fitment, as viewed in FIG. 1 but with the closure removed, drawn on a reduced scale.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS The non-refillable fitment illustrated in the drawings comprises a housing including an upper member generally indicated at 10, and a lower member 12, a valve 14 is disposed with said housing. The upper member 10 and the valve member 14 are,,for instance, composed of polystyrene and the lower member 12 is, for instance composed of low density polythene. The parts are moulded. The upper member 10 has an outer annular wall 16 having external screwthreads l8 and extending in a direction away from the lower member 12. Six radial ribs. 20 extend inwardly from this wall 16, at spaced intervals around the axis of the fitment, and serve to mount a cap 24 which defines with the wall 16, an annular orifice at the top surface of the upper member 10. The annular orifice is indicated at 26. As is evident in the drawings, the cap member 24 has an upper surface that is substantially co-extensive or level with the upper surface or end of the annular wall 16. The cap member 24 has a smaller diameter than the upper end of the annular wall 16 whereby the cap member 24 and annular wall 16 define an inner wall and outer wall, respectively, of an annular channel terminating in the annular liquid outlet orifice 26. As shown, the upper surface of the cap member 24 is solid. That is, there is no opening therein. The six radial ribs 20 extend into the annular orifice 26. Between the ribs 20 in the annular orifice 26 there are arranged six further ribs 22, best seen in FIG. 3. The radially directed inner edges 28 of the ribs 20 serve to define a cage or cage-like guide means for the valve 14. The internal diameter of the cage is somewhat larger than the diameter of the valve head 30, for example 1.02 to 1.2 times the outer diameter of the head 30 of the valve 14. It will be seen that there is a-liquid path from the lower part of the upper member 10 between the ribs 20 and 22 to the annular orifice 26.

The interior of the cap 24 forms the upper part of the cage for the valve 14 and restricts lateral movement of the stem 32 of the valve 14 to prevent the valve from tilting sufficiently to allow it to become wedged in an open position in the cage or in the cage and the aperture 34 of lower member 12. A rim of the lower member 10 provides a seat 36 for the valve. That is, the lower member 12 includes a valve seat 36 which de fines the aperture 34 above the mouth of the bottle. The inside diameter of the cap 24 is preferably from I .l to 1.8 times the outside diameter of the stem 32 of the valve 14. As will be hereinafter described, the stem 32 of the valve 14 is fluted and by its outside diameter we mean the diameter of a circle circumscribing the flutes 38. Optionallyythe valve stem 32 may be tapered, in which case by its diameter we mean its greatest diameter.

The valve member 14 has a valve head 30 and a stem 32, the latter having flutes 38. The valve head 30 has a substantially flat lower peripheral face for cooperation with the valve seat 36 and the upper surface of the valve head 30 slopes downwardly from the stem 32 towards the periphery of the valve head 30. The lower member 12 has an upstanding peripheral rib 40. This is chamfered to cooperate with a similarly chamfered part 42 of the wall 16 of the upper member 10. The lower member 12 has a depression therein formed by downwardly sloping walls 44 and the aforementioned valve seat 36. The downwardly sloping walls 44 are angled to be complementary to the downwardly sloping edges 46 of the ribs 20. The lower member 12, its aperture 34 and valve seat 36 form the lower boundary of the cage for the valve member 14. A rib 48 extends around the lower face of the wall 16 of the upper member and is pressed into the lower member 12, which is of softer material, to form a seal. The lower surface of the lower member 12 has at least one circular rib or protrusion 50 extending around it. Two ribs 50 are shown. These ribs 50 are, in use, squashed against the upper surface of the bottle neck 52 to improve sealing between the fitment and the bottle. The section ofthe ribs 50 can be of any convenient shape in accordance with the material of the lower member and the desired sealing characteristics. The lower member 12 is also provided with a spigot 54 which enters the neck of the bottle and which is provided with two radially extending ribs or protrusions 56 to ensure a liquid tight seal with the inside of the neck of the bottle. For clarity, the ribs 50 and 56 are shown in an undeformed condition, although it is envisaged that in use, they would be deformed to provide effective seals.

in operation, when the bottle is vertical, or nearly so, as shown in FIG. 1, the valve 14 rests on the valve seat 36 and if an attempt is made to introduce liquid into the 3 bottle neck under pressure, the increased pressure forces the valve shut even more tightly. When the bottle is tilted as shown in F IG. 2, the valve 14 moves away from the valve seat 36, its stem 32 being loosely guided within the cap 24 and its head being guided by the inner edges 28 of the ribs 20, and liquid flows between the ribs and 22 and out of the annular aperture 26. It has been found that the provision of an annular orifice 26, a flow path thereto as is illustrated in the drawings and a valve member 14 of the shape illustrated gives smooth even pouring of the liquid, in contrast to some prior forms of non-refillable fitments which have poured in a jerky or splashy manner.

A screw closure 58, for instance of polypropylene, is provided to cooperate with the screwthreads 18 of the upper member 10. The closure 58 is provided with an external ring 60 around its lower edge which is connected thereto by six connecting portions 62. The closure 58 is separable from the ring 60 by tearing. The portions 62 taper downwardly as viewed in F IG. 1 from the inner face of the ring 60 so that the connection between the ring 60 and the closure 58 is over a very small area and is thus easily broken. Such a closure is fitted to the upper member 10 before the fitment is attached to the bottle neck 52 and then the external ring 60 of the closure 58, the upper member 10 and the lower member 12 are secured to the bottle as shown by a sleeve or capping 64, which is preferably of aluminum.

As the sleeve 64 is applied to the bottle neck 52, the upper member 10 is urged towards the lower member 12 so that ribs 48 are pressed into the lower member 12 to form a seal between the upper and lower members. Ribs 50 of the lower member 12 are compressed against the top of the bottle neck 52 and ribs 56 deformed inside the bottle neck 52 to form a seal between the fitment and bottle.

The inside of the screw closure 58 is formed with an annular ridge 66 which is dimensioned to engage the outer wall 16 of the upper member 10 within the annular orifice 26 to provide a seal between the fitment and the closure.

With this arrangement, a potential buyer of a bottle equipped with such a fitment and closure can see that the bottle has not been opened prior to purchase. The closure 58 is removed by unscrewing it so that it tears away from the external ring as hereinbefore described, the ring 60 remaining in place under the sleeve 64. The closure 58 may then be replaced in the same way as a normal screw closure. The outer circumferential-surface of the closure 58 is provided with vertical ribs (as viewed in FIG. 1 not shown, to facilitate gripping of the cap by a user.

It will be appreciated that modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, the spigot 54 could be omitted from the lower member of the fitment or the spigot retained but the ribs 56 thereof omitted. The rib or ribs 50 could be omitted from the lower member. The cap 24 may additionally have slots arranged between the ribs 22 and 23 to provide liquid paths through the cap. If desired the number and arrangement of the ribs may be changed or the ribs 23 may be omitted. Instead of the annular rim 66 the screw'cap may be provided with a conventional cork and foil seal.

We claim:

1. A non-refillable fitment comprising:

a. a housing including a lower member constructed for attachment on the neck of a bottle and an upper member surmounting the lower member,

b. said lower member having internal walls defining an aperture and a valve seat surrounding the aperture,

c. said upper member including an annular wall extending in a direction-away from the lower member and radial ribs extending inwardly from the annular wall,

d. said radial ribs including radially directed inner edges which define cage-like guide means,

e. a valve member located in said housing and disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat within said cage-like guide means and f. a cap member surmounting the radial ribs and having an upper surface that is solid and is substantially coextensive with the upper surface of the annular wall,

g. said cap member having a smaller diameter than the upper end of the annular wall whereby the cap member and annular wall define an annular channel terminating in an annular liquid outlet orifice,

h. said valve member includes a head which faces said valve seat and a stem extending from said head and in a direction away from said valve seat,

i. said cage-like guide means being in guiding slidable relationship with respect to said head.

2. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said head has an upper surface which slopes away from said stem and towards said valve seat.

3. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve stem includes radially extending flutes.

4. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower member includes an annular spigot having resilient sealing means which deformably engage the interior of the neck of said bottle.

5. In an assembly including a bottle, a non-refillable fitment and means securing the fitment to the neck of the bottle, said fitment comprising:

a. a housing including a lower member engaging the neck of the bottle and an upper member having an annular wall extending in a direction away from the lower member,

b. said lower member including a valve seat defining an aperture above the mouth of the bottle,

0. said upper member including ribs extending inwardly from the annular wall and having radially directed inner ends defining a cage-like guide means,

d. a valve member disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat and being in guiding slidable relationship with said cage-like guide means,

e. a cap surmounting the ribs and having an upper surface which is solid and is substantially level with the upper end of the annular wall,

lar channel which extends in a direction away from the valve seat and terminates in a liquid outlet orifice.

6. An assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein a closure means is screwed onto said upper member and closes said orifice, I

the top of said closure means including an annular ridge depending therefrom into engagement with the inner surface of the annular wall of said upper member.

7. An assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said securing means includes a sleeve deformed into engagement with the neck of said bottle,

said sleeve compressing the lower member between the upper member and said neck.

8. An assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein a ring is secured to the lower edge of said closure means by rupturable means,

said ring being held to the bottle neck by securing means,

whereby said closure means can be screwed along said upper member to break said rupturable means thereby freeing said closure means from the ring. 

1. A non-refillable fitment comprising: a. a housing including a lower member constructed for attachment on the neck of a bottle and an upper member surmounting the lower member, b. said lower member having internal walls defining an aperture and a valve seat surrounding the aperture, c. said upper member including an annular wall extending in a direction away from the lower member and radial ribs extending inwardly from the annular wall, d. said radial ribs including radially directed inner edges which define cage-like guide means, e. a valve member located in said housing and disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat within said cagelike guide means and f. a cap member surmounting the radial ribs and having an upper surface that is solid and is substantially coextensive with the upper surface of the annular wall, g. said cap member having a smaller diameter than the upper end of the annular wall whereby the cap member and annular wall define an annular channel terminating in an annular liquid outlet orifice, h. said valve member includes a head which faces said valve seat and a stem extending from said head and in a direction away from said valve seat, i. said cage-like guide means being in guiding slidable relationship with respect to said head.
 2. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said head has an upper surface which slopes away from said stem and towards said valve seat.
 3. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve stem includes radially extending flutes.
 4. A fitment as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower member includes an annular spigot having resilient sealing means which deformably engage the interior of the neck of said bottle.
 5. In an assembly including a bottle, a non-refillable fitment and means securing the fitment to the neck of the bottle, said fitment comprising: a. a housing including a lower member engaging the neck of the bottle and an upper member having an annular wall extending in a direction away from the lower member, b. said lower member including a valve seat defining an aperture above the mouth of the bottle, c. said upper member including ribs extending inwardly from the annular wAll and having radially directed inner ends defining a cage-like guide means, d. a valve member disposed for movement towards and away from the valve seat and being in guiding slidable relationship with said cage-like guide means, e. a cap surmounting the ribs and having an upper surface which is solid and is substantially level with the upper end of the annular wall, f. whereby said cap and annular wall define an annular channel which extends in a direction away from the valve seat and terminates in a liquid outlet orifice.
 6. An assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein a closure means is screwed onto said upper member and closes said orifice, the top of said closure means including an annular ridge depending therefrom into engagement with the inner surface of the annular wall of said upper member.
 7. An assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said securing means includes a sleeve deformed into engagement with the neck of said bottle, said sleeve compressing the lower member between the upper member and said neck.
 8. An assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein a ring is secured to the lower edge of said closure means by rupturable means, said ring being held to the bottle neck by securing means, whereby said closure means can be screwed along said upper member to break said rupturable means thereby freeing said closure means from the ring. 